Balloons [A Michael Jackson Fan Fiction]

Chapter 6: The Runaway

   Why wasn't she the one who died? Why does it have to be her mother? Surely if she died, no one would care. Except for her mom, of course. They loved each other dearly. She knew she was being selfish, for if she was the one who died, Rose would have to go through the emotional pain she is experiencing right now. She still couldn't help it. She was too weak. She couldn't handle anything. She just can't.

   What if she was the one who died? She would probably be enjoying the afterlife. No more mixed up emotions, no more pain, no anything. Just peace. She wouldn't Michael anymore, which meant no drama. No more feelings for him. Sounds like paradise, right? No more confusion for anything.

   Tears still kept falling from her eyes, which made her vision blurred. All she can see now is the usual busy New York street filled with people rushing home and rapid car lights speeding by. Just a normal day for everyone. No one knew her or her problems. She was so irritated with everything that happened to her that she tugged on her hair and let out a frustrated scream, not caring if people would notice her or not.

   Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her. She didn't even take time to see who it was. She just continued crying unto the jacket or sweater or shirt or whatever it is of someone she didn't know. She knew it was stupid to be go all emotional to a complete stranger, knowing that he or she could be a criminal. But she didn't care. Not for now. How cliché. The person just hummed a silent, soothing tune while comforting her.

   After a few minutes, she stopped crying. She wiped her tears away, only to see the clothing of the person was completely soaked with her tears. She backed away, still not looking at the face of the person, embarrassed of what she's done.

"Holy shit, I'm so sorry. Oh my God, I didn't know," she started stuttering.

"It's okay, Autumn," the man replied. She recognized that voice right away. Her head shot up almost immediately to see those familiar pair of chocolate brown eyes. She cursed under her own breath. She just cried on the suit of his (ex) best friend.

=

{M}

   Michael panicked at the sight of his best friend running to God knows where. People around the room started staring at him and whispering again. All he did was give them a sheepish smile. He looked at his sister, she gave him a curt nod as a response, signaling him to run after Autumn. He gave her a reassuring smile and quickly ran out of the room.

   As he reached the outside, he put his aviators. He wouldn't want people knowing that he just came out a funeral. He has a personal life too. The cold wind blew, making him tug on his jacket harder. He realized he was too late to see where Autumn ran to, for she was nowhere to be seen.

   He walked quickly around the streets of New York with this head down. He didn't know where to start looking, after all, New York is one of the biggest cities in the world. It's most likely mpossible to find her. He only went to New York once, and that was when he first met Autumn. He never actually had a tour around the city, so he was clueless of where he was going.

   Time quickly passed by. Michael noticed that the sun was starting to set. He thought of giving up the search, knowing she would return anyway. There was no way she was just going to leave her mother alone like that. He was tired an sweat was dripping from his forehead, even though the atmosphere was cold. He was about to return to the funeral place, but he couldn't remember where it was. If he asked somebody, they'd recognize him, which is a bad thing. He couldn't remember which street he passed by, so he just walked around, hoping he would find it soon.

   At some point of him walking around, he heard a scream, followed by soft sobs. For him, it sounded like somebody needed help. The scream was audible by everyone to hear, but everyone was too ignorant to hear it. They were all "busy" to notice that someone might actually need help. Well, that's New York.

   He followed the cries until it led him to a dark alley. He was terrified, to be quite honest, but he had to see who or what it was. As he walked nearer, he saw a woman crouched down crying. He quickly recognized her light brown hair. It was Autumn. He did the first thing he thought of, and that was to hug and comfort her. As he hugged her, she quickly buried her head in his chest and cried. He didn't mind though. She is his best friend. He quietly hummed a tune to calm her down.

   After some time, she stopped crying. She backed away from him, obviously embarrassed that she just cried all over his shirt.

"Holy shit, I'm so sorry. Oh my God, I didn't know," she said quickly apologized. Michael didn't understand why she had to apologize. She should've known it was okay. It was just him.

"It's okay, Autumn," he replied. He didn't know why, but her head suddenly shot up, looking him straight in the eyes. It seemed like she was too shocked to register the fact that he found her.

"Michael?"

"Yeah, hi," he chuckled lightly. "Why did you suddenly run off like that? Everyone was so worrried."

"I don't want to talk about it," she replied tersely as she looked away from him and started walking away.

"What?" Michael questioned. Why was she acting like this? "Autumn, listen to me. You know you can talk to me about anything right?"

"No, and even if I did, I wouldn't." She snapped at him.

"Autumn, what's wrong with you? Why are you acting like this?"

"That's none of your business, Michael."

"You can't act like this around me, I'm- "

"You're what?" She cut him off quickly. "You're Michael Jackson, a.k.a., The greatest and most successful pop star of all time? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was in the presence of royalty. Forgive my stupidity, your highness." She replied, hate and spite dripping from her words.

"No. I'm your best friend."